A writer blogs about God, family, hope, time, health, relationships.

Monthly Archives: February 2019

With all that’s going on in the world, and then in New York State where abortion rights have been expanded to the furthest degree possible, I need to look for the good in life and keep my eyes on Jesus, for God amazes me!

So, I thought I’d look for encouragement in the Word
and this is what I came up with:

This is a letter from the Apostle Paul to the Philippians
while in jail. I copied a small portion that always reminds me to keep looking
up.

Php 4:4,
(NKJV): Rejoice in
the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Php 4:5 Let
your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

Php 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

Php 4:7 and
the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.

Php 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,
whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever
things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there
is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on
these things.

Php 4:9 The
things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and
the God of peace will be with you.

My husband and I drove to the mall today despite the one-degree Fahrenheit weather, because the blustery below-zero forecast-ed weather never arrived. We needed some office supplies and bulk items for church that our little town doesn’t provide.

So, I bundled up and my
husband cranked the heat up in the car and off we went. The stores seemed a lot
emptier than usual. We entered the traffic flow on the roads with ease. The
weather forecasters warned of windchill at 27 below-zero, which made me hesitate
to go out, but my guy wasn’t deterred, so I figured he’s not foolish and I promised
my daughter that I’d sew a zipper in her son’s coat. I hadn’t bought the zipper
yet and time was a wasting, as they say in the West or in the South or maybe it’s
from my childhood.

The thing is, it’s so cold outside that the walls are radiating a decided chill in the room where I sew. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, so I’m putting it off until then. When we left our warm car, earlier in the day, I wore a heavy crocheted hat down lower on my ears than normal. The matching scarf covered my face so I could breathe. The later we stayed out, the brisker the winds got, but thankfully they weren’t moving much. It was the cold air that caused the discomfort. We made six stops over three hours, and by the end, we were both ready to get home. After putting the plates and tissues and file cabinet supplies away at church, we reached our house and put away the carrots and the tomatoes and the Worcestershire sauce, etc. I put the heat back up four degrees on the thermostat.

As we drove, I told my husband the sunshine was beautiful. We live in Upstate NY, and not that long ago, we had over 60 days with clouds and no sunshine. Some folks suffer from S.A.D.-seasonal affective disorder. “Sometimes it’s called winter depression or the hibernation reaction,” according to this site:

I know folks who suffer from the lack of sunshine, so they purchase lamps with natural light bulbs. One variety I’m familiar with is OttLite.

When it gets really cold, with air from the Arctic circling down our way, many of the schools and churches close down for the sake of the walkers. More than ten minutes outdoors in the extreme cold can cause hypothermia, according to our local radio station’s weather man.

When it’s frigid outside,
too much of it causes me to feel grumpy or to feel grateful, depending on my
state of mind and/or body. I’ve been so aware of the privilege of living in a
house with a good furnace. Two years ago, I bought a warm winter coat for the
low price of $20.00 at the end of the cold season. I remember many years ago,
being sure the kids had warm outer-wear and getting along with less helpful
protection from the elements because I didn’t go outside as much and they were
little. A paycheck only goes so far sometimes.

Being covered in warm
layers from head to toe takes the grumpiness away. When it’s normal winter
weather, about 25 degrees outside, the fresh cold air is invigorating to breathe
in. My husband likes to kid me. “You’d never make it in Alaska!”

That’s probably why I’ve
never lived there. I hear it’s a beautiful state and some folks talk about the
cruise ships they’ve boarded to see the wonders of the northern-most part of
the U.S.A. I may get there one day. One never knows what life will bring,
especially when I think of opportunities God has opened up in my life over the
years. As it says in the Scripture: (1Corinthians_2:9 NKJV)
But as it is written: “EYE HAS NOT SEEN, NOR EAR HEARD, NOR HAVE ENTERED
INTO THE HEART OF MAN THE THINGS WHICH GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE
HIM.”

In this blog, I could
have talked about rain or sunshine for most of the day, but we’re in the
northern hemisphere and it is winter here. Do you have a weather-related story
you’d like to share?